spongey brakes

[SWE11L]

yo! has anyone with a vs still with standard brakes found they have become less effective and "spongey" like when braking??

 

[KingDiamond]

Could be a number of things... But what happened with me in my VR:

Needed new brake pads..

 

[hako]

Spongy brakes are sometimes caused by air in the hydraulic lines - when you put your foot on the brake pedal instead of forcing brake fluid to the brake pistons you first have to compress tiny air bubbles in the fluid. Unless you have been playing around with your brakes they should not have air in them although if the fluid has never been changed (every 2 years), you may have moisure/air in it. Also if the pads are pretty worn the pedal can feel a bit spongy. Flexible lines can also fail by bulging but thats pretty rare.
Some months ago I had the same problem which I fixed by replacing the front pads with Ferodo pads - they ones that are green on the outside, and also by flushing the old fluid from the front hydraulic lines. I found that I had a higher pedal and the brakes bite much better. I didn't bother about the rear ones as the pads still had lots of meat left on them.
The bottom line is that good brakes are your ace card in a tricky situation so it's not something to ignore. Good Luck.

 

[sircruisealotVS]

yeah, thats right, should just grab some new pads and bleed the system and put some new fluid in. if its still spongey after that there's something wrong (maybe rotors have had it) but i doubt it.
keep in mind if you want some real good brakes, vt twin piston calipers and 293mm slotted rotors are only around $400 (a pair), with braided lines and pads included.

 

[SWE11L]

thanks guys, i've had the car for nearly 3 years and have never completley drained the brakes and put new fluid in so i might give that a go, pads are still pretty chunky tho.